Team America: World Police
Those quesy of stomach or quick to take offense beware: This is not the movie for you. Too bad, because it's a rollicking good satire, which in between jabs at just about every group under the sun, makes a desperate plea for some common sense in these troubled times.
Did I mention all the action takes place with puppets? Yes, the first victim of South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker is Hollywood noise producer Jerry Bruckheimer, whose films are mocked mercilessly by having puppets on strings perform ridiculous action sequences and proposing an even more ludicrous plot about an actor being converted into an American super cop who can infiltrate terrorist groups and help Team America prevent further attacks.
The mastermind of all the world's terrorist activities is, of course, everyone's favorite diminuitive megolomanical dictator, Kim Jong-Il (truly adorable in puppet form, incidentally). Jong-Il wants to exploit the gullable American left (particularly Hollywood's most vocal idiots) while misdirecting the over reactionary right into combating non-existant threats. So, Team America blows up everything in their path while trying to uncover Jong-Il's plot and destroys America's reputation in the process, even though they are the only ones willing to take any action at all.
The standard set forth by Monty Python has always had a strong influence on Stone and Parker, but Team America is without a doubt the brightest progeny in that illustrious vein of comedy. It's a risky proposition to put before American audiences—something that ridicules everyone so bluntly in an attempt to help us see that maybe the other side of the political aisle is right sometimes, and we should try to meet somewhere in the middle, where logic and reason overrule fantasy and delusion.
Then again, as playwright George S. Kaufman once said: "Satire is what closes on Saturday night."
- September 15, 2008
DVD Extras
The Team America DVD is loaded with informative and funny extras, covering everything from building the puppets and miniature sets to the special pyrotechnics needed to blow them all up. There is also a touching tribute to the film's villain, Kim Jong-Il, and a featurette about the idea behind the movie. Throw in some deleted scenes, outtakes, trailers and storyboards, and there is plenty of bonus material to compliment this very funny film.